A Macrocosm Wavered
by Teskosuicide
Summary: With the Dark Signers defeated, a time of change has swept over Neo Domino City and Satellite. Yuusei is the new King and reintegration has begun. But there are those out there against reintegration. Change is happening, but is it necessarily good change?


"I want you to be the new King of Riding Duel."

Yuusei had been expecting this conversation for several weeks now. He looked at Jaegar, who was the acting Director since Yiliaster had become aware of Godwin's unfortunate 'disappearance'. The news hadn't quite hit the presses yet, as Yiliaster wanted to keep things quiet for as long as they could. However, Godwin's lack of appearance after the darkness that had spread over the city and Satellite was not something that could be ignored. A story was made that Godwin had been severely injured during the transgressions of the past month and was currently hospitalised. All responsibilities and inquiries were to be directed to Godwin's second-in-command Jaegar for the time being.

Those involved, however, knew what it would eventually lead to.

After a month of repairs to the city, things were starting to go back to normal. Yuusei and Jack were invited by Jaeger to stay within the penthouse that Jack had called home during his tenure as King of Riding Duel. All three of them anticipated Jaeger eventually offering the position to Yuusei once the plan for the city was set in stone.

This made Jack snippish and distant. For the first week or so after everything had ended, Jack and Yuusei had gone back to the way they had been previously, before Jack's theft and subsequent escape from Satellite had forced the giant wedge between them. Now that things were settling down, Jack was growing progressively more and more distant and short with Yuusei. The reminder of everything that he had was right there in front of his face and the prospect of having it all taken away by Yuusei was damaging to his pride. Yuusei, however, had suspicions that his distance was caused by another source.

Crow, who was currently still residing in Satellite, kept in regular contact with the two. Several times a week, phone calls were made for updates on the progress of the city. It was Crow that had finally asked Yuusei what he was going to do should Jaeger offer him the job. The implications of it happening had been hanging in the air for a while and Yuusei had just tried to pretend it was something that wasn't going to happen. However, going back to normal meant exactly that, and with it came the tournament.

This was the answer that Yuusei would come up with. Personally, he felt like he wasn't made to be the King of Riding Duel, not the way that Jack was. Jack had set a standard that Yuusei wasn't sure he would be able to replicate. As Jack had told him, the King's duelling was entertainment for the people. Yuusei, however, wasn't an entertainer. He was a duelist.

He had made the decision to accept Jaeger's offer with the condition that he reintigrate Satellite and Neo Domino City. It was the dream he had always held, and thus this was the perfect opportunity to put it into action. Whether or not Jaeger would accept it was the question, but he figured he would try.

Currently, Jaeger was staring at him. Yuusei wondered if Jaeger had expected this. His silence said no, but the lack of surprise in his expression said otherwise. After a few thick moments of anticipation, Jaeger sighed and slumped in his chair.

"That's not something I can say yes or no to right now, Yuusei," Jaeger said, frustration apparent in his voice, his voice betraying how mentally exhausted Jaeger actually was, despite his attempt to appear otherwise. The change had been sudden, and Jaeger barely had time to even think about it before he was shoved headfirst in to fix what Godwin had ultimately broken during his tenure as Director of Neo Domino City. Jaeger was perfect for the job. He had everything that needed to be done memorised, but there were extra responsibilities that Godwin had left, and it was adding to his already busy schedule.

"Why?"

"Because I can't make decisions like that. Those decisions are made by a higher source."

Jaeger left it at that, but Yuusei remembered, vaguely, when Godwin told them about a group called Yiliaster. Divine, Aki and the Arcadia Movement had been adamently against Yiliaster if only for the sole purpose of the proper ressurrection of the Crimson Dragon. Beyond that, he never really understood why, and had always felt there had been a deeper reason behind it than the Crimson Dragon. He suspected that Godwin answered to them and with that, were the ones that really controlled what happened to Neo Domino City. In a way, much like Jack had been, Godwin was merely a figurehead. With a little bit of power, of course. In order to properly fit into his role, they gave him enough power to make the smaller decisions. For bigger things, however, he would have had to get their approval. It was all a farse, just like it had been with Jack. The difference was that Jack thought he had more influence than he did and Godwin knew he had very little in terms of influence, but planned as if he had more anyway.

"I will ask, though. They seem to really want you to be the next King. I'll have your answer within the week."

Yuusei simply nodded and walked out of the office. Mikage was there, sitting at her old desk. A phone was pressed to her ear with several lines beeping at once. Mikage had taken over the duty of Director Assistant and was currently pulling double shifts in order to be able to catch up with the massive workload that had come from the damage pulled by the Dark Signer's stunts. Everything regarding the stability of the city rode on her shoulders, from the budget to making sure the repairs being made to damaged infrastructure was kept to code. Yuusei shot her a small smile, which she returned, though hers was tight with stress. Yuusei walked out of the building and hopped on his D-Wheel.

Yuusei drove, riding the now familiar streets of Neo Domino City. Despite being there for so long, he still felt out of place. The stares that he got as he roamed the streets for groceries and other necessities made him feel uneasy. He was occasionally recognised as 'the guy that beat Jack Atlus', but he never mentioned those encounters to Jack or Crow. Along with the rare occasions of recognition, however, also came the prejudice. Sometimes, things would be thrown at him. On less physically painful occasions, he would hear people whispering things like 'Satellite scum' or 'markered trash'. He had since learned what stores to avoid, because the workers had been forbidden to sell anything to a 'marked criminal'.

Despite the occasional downsides, and the general feeling of unease that Yuusei had riding on his shoulders, things in Neo Domino City were good. If things continued to go well, he would soon be realising his dream. The dream that he, Crow and Jack had made when they were young. In order to achieve it, he had to be there. So, despite frequent urges to go back to Satellite, he stayed put, determined to see things through. Jack might say that Jaeger owed him that much. Yuusei only thought that he had done what was right and that no payment was owed. He would achieve his dream on his own merits.

There was a part of Yuusei that was dreading returning home, however. Once a week, he was called in to speak with Jaeger about some thing or another. Jaeger trusted Yuusei's thoughts and judgements. At first, the meetings were about what took place while he was... indisposed. Full reports were written and immediately sealed away. The press was dodged and fairy tales about what really happened were told. It was all just a big production that had been in the works for months that had gone awry. A float had destroyed buildings, and the power output from the Momentum generator had overflowed. As a safety measure, the excess power flowed through lines to Old Momentum in Satellite, which was activated. However, due to a lack of upkeep, the generator malfunctioned and another explosion happened, though it was on a much smaller scale.

All of it was, of course, a lie. There were no lines that fed into Old Momentum in Satellite. Anyone who had lived near the area, or had anything to do with it called bullshit. Fortunately for the city of Neo Domino, most of the people who would have known anything about it were dead. The rest were keeping their mouths shut.

Now that the story was told, Godwin's disappearance was explained as a bad injury during the malfunction of the event, and everything was getting back to normal, the meetings were short and only seemed to dance around the issue of Yuusei being the King. The meetings seemed pointless, at first. Jaeger only seemed to want to meet up with Yuusei and chat for the sake of having a few precious minutes to get away from his job. Then the requests for opinions started, the penthouse was offered, and money was being trickled into a bank account that had been set up for him without request.

That was when Jack started becoming more and more distant and short with him. He linked the two together, and began to dread going home after the meetings, for there would be questions. After the questions, Jack was especially distant. The awkwardness of the meetings, plus the practical interrogation from Jack made Wednesday Yuusei's least favourite day of the week. He only felt like he was able to get anything done after that particular day of the week had passed.

Eventually, Yuusei headed back to the building. He parked his D-Wheel in the specially made private D-Wheel garage next to Jack's Wheel of Fortune. The guards let him through and he made his way up to the top of the building and into the penthouse with ease.

When he entered the penthouse, Jack was there, news paper sitting in his lap, though his focus was on Yuusei. Jack was dressed down, wearing loose fitting tracksuit pants and a plain, black tanktop. Yuusei met Jack's gaze and held it for a moment, before turning to put his helmet on the table next to the door. He almost hated coming home after meetings with Jaeger. There was always an interrogation from Jack and then the follow up phone call with Crow that left him oddly exhausted. Today, he hoped that he could avoid the inevitable hard line of questions and demands that came from Jack.

"Well?" Jack said, his voice oddly quiet, considering his usual booming tenor. It was almost as if he was afraid of the news that Yuusei had to offer. The news that his position was no longer his, and that Yuusei had, officially, taken away everything he had ever known, loved and cherished. Yuusei knew that Jack was a man of pride. He was, however, silently stunned that what had transpired between the Dark Signers hadn't changed him. The only thing was that he was no longer ashamed of his birthmark, but now had pride in it.

"He asked today."

Yuusei turned back towards Jack, who appeared a little more pale than he had been a moment ago. He really seemed to be dreading this. The two stared at each other, Yuusei's face a hard mask of apparent indifference and Jack's a look of withheld emotion and strain. Yuusei swore he saw rage in Jack's eyes, but knew if that were the case, that Jack would be lashing out instead of holding it back. Something else was back there. That, alone, was what kept Yuusei from fighting with Jack. There was a possibility that Jack was mad, but the anger wasn't directed at him.

It didn't keep Jack from directing that frustration at him, however.

"And?"

"I told him what my conditions were."

Yuusei made his way to the large kitchen that had been mostly untouched by Jack during his reign as King. He opened up the large cupboard that held all of the dry and easily made food that they owned and set about making himself something to eat. He hadn't had anything since before his meeting with Jaeger and he was hungry. Better to face Jack with food and a clear head than to try and field his questions with an empty stomach and thoughts clouded by hunger.

Jack had followed him into the lavish kitchen, his feet slapping roughly on the hardwood floor. His footsteps betrayed his held back anger, confirming Yuusei's suspicions.

"Don't walk away from me! Tell me what he said!"

Yuusei worked quietly, the only sound being the light scratching of his knife against the bread in his hands. He felt Jack's stare on him, adamantly refusing to answer until his sandwich was finished. Jack could wait for that long.

Jack did wait for a few lengthy moments. Yuusei could see him practically gawking out of the corner of his eyes as he continued.

"Well?"

Yuusei continued preparing his food, doing his best to ignore Jack. Just having him there was making him feel tight and stressed. Yuusei eventually finished his food, with Jack practically hovering over his shoulder with impatience and irritation.

"Yuusei!"

"He couldn't answer me, Jack. It's not his decision to make."

Jack shut up, blinking a little in surprise. Yuusei took a bite of his food and brushed past Jack, heading towards the phone. He would finish his sandwich long before he made the actual call to Crow, but there was no sense being ill prepared. Jack's questions would come raining at him, but he would be ready now. Yuusei sat where Jack had been previously, the small white phone he had picked up resting in his hand. Moments later, he heard Jack amble away from the kitchen and back towards the couch. He sat down next to Yuusei, looking at him. His anger had been mostly defused, it seemed. Right now he just looked stunned.

"I always thought Godwin was making up their existence when he refused me," Jack muttered quietly, having shifted his expression away from Yuusei and focusing on the floor. They both knew what Jack was talking about when he referenced them.

"So my suspicions are right, then?"

"Yeah."

Yuusei took another bite of his sandwich and sighed through is nose, not saying anything else. Jack sat there for several long minutes, staring at the floor and visibly going over bits and pieces of knowledge that Yuusei had yet to acquire. Jack knew more about the inner workings of the city than Yuusei did, though Yuusei always assumed that Jack was purposefully kept in the dark.

"When will you know?" came another question from Jack, his voice strained as he asked it. Yuusei peeked at him and noted the fires of anger were back in his eyes and shoulders.

"Next week."

Jack never replied. Instead, he got up and retreated to his room. The room he had when he had been the King. Yuusei gave it to him out of respect and slept on the couch. In hindsight, maybe the decision hadn't been the best one. Jack was horribly distant and maybe giving him his room back was a poor decision because it only served to drive home the fact that Jack was on the verge of losing his entire life from the past two years.

Several minutes later, Jack was dressed. Without saying anything to Yuusei, or even bothering to look at him, he left the penthouse entirely. Yuusei stared at the door, chewing slowly as he considered the meaning behind what just happened. Jack usually shut himself away after the meetings. Now he was leaving entirely. He wasn't sure what it meant, but it obviously wasn't something positive.

He would have to deal with it later. For now, it was time to call Crow. Yuusei popped the last of his sandwich into his mouth and picked up the phone.


End file.
